The Melting Pot on St. Charles Avenue has served its last round of melted cheese and chocolate-dipped strawberries. The long-running restaurant closed after service on Thursday, May 31.

A representative for the building in which it operated confirmed it had closed for good.

The Melting Pot had been in business at the corner of St. Charles Avenue and St. Mary Street since 2005. It was the local outpost for a national chain, which is based in Tampa and reports more than 120 locations. The company has another Louisiana location in Baton Rouge that is unaffected by this closing.

Fondue may sound fancy, and it’s even a bit difficult to define. But this Swiss dish is basically a dipping sauce, often made of melted cheese…

While New Orleans does not always embrace chain eateries, this one proved to be a longtime fixture for this stretch of lower St. Charles Avenue and was popular with families for its unique form of interactive dining.

If a another restaurant goes into this space, it will have to contend with a unique configuration the fondue operation entailed. Much of the the cooking was done by customers at their own tables.

This stretch of St. Charles Avenue has seen some significant restaurant turnover. A block away, Cheesecake Bistro by Copeland's closed last week after 17 years. Its parent company says a new concept is in the works here.